Once Upon a Rugged Knight

Praise for

Helen Cox’s

Romance Books

‘It was swoon-worthy as they fell in love and I sighed my approval.’

‘A steamy historical romance novella that kept me turning the pages.’

‘I will definitely add this author to my favourites list.’

‘One heart-soaring thrill ride.’

Five star rated comments from Booksprout reviewers.

Published in the United Kingdom by Helen Cox Books.

Copyright © 2021 by Helen Louise Cox.

Ebook ISBN: 9781838080181

All characters depicted in this book are works of fiction. Any resemblance to real people is coincidence only. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. For further information, visit helencoxbooks.com.

Other Romance Titles by Helen Louise Cox

Disarming the Wildest Warrior

Surrendering to the Gentleman Pirate

Swept Away by the Merman

Contents

Historical Notes

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty One

About the Author

HISTORICAL NOTES

This story is deliberately set at a time in which the Great Vowel Shift was already well under way in England. This creative choice was made in order to give my two central characters at least a fighting chance of understanding each other. Major changes in the pronunciation of vowel sounds took place between 1400 and 1700 but were particularly concentrated in the 15th and 16th Centuries when spelling began to be standardised. Thus, though there would be inevitable differences between Maddie and Sir Pierce Carlyle’s speech patterns, they would, so far as my research shows, recognise that they were both speaking the English language.

With regards to dialect and syntax of the 1500s, I have done my best to strike a balance between authenticity and accessibility for the modern-day reader. I have therefore peppered the story with words and sentence constructions that would have been favoured at the time Sir Pierce Carlyle lived in order to offer a flavour of the period. Given the light-hearted, nay, frivolous nature of the tale you are about to read, this seemed the most sensible course to take.

Robin Hood is mentioned briefly in this story due to the bulk of the action being set in Sherwood Forest. By the 1500s many ballads had been written about this folktale hero. Consequently, although Maddie and Sir Pierce lived almost five hundred years apart, this is one pop-culture reference that they would definitely both share. Unlike Mila Kunis.

Nottingham 2019

CHAPTER ONE

MADDIE

‘C ross my palm with silver, young maiden, and I will tell you all about your days not yet lived.’

Maddie Dawson smiled at the woman with the wrinkled face, adorned in a robe made entirely of dark purple silk and hanging out the back of a covered wagon. Even with her maroon turban, set with a large green jewel, she was one of the less-garish vendors at the annual fairytale convention Once Upon a Dream.

Yes, Maddie had felt a little silly booking a ticket for a fairytale-oriented event at the age of thirty. Not to mention buying a medieval princess costume from eBay, complete with a pointed hennin hat. After doing little else but care for her ailing mother for the past two years however, she ultimately convinced herself she deserved a bit of fun. Reading fairytale stories had been the only salve for all the pain and responsibility unexpectedly mounted on her since her mother’s breast cancer diagnosis. With the convention taking place just an hour away from her hometown of Lincoln, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to indulge her need for escape.

The moment she stepped out of the May sunshine and in through the doors of the Nottinghamshire Regional Conference Hall, she forgot all of her prior self-consciousness. There were many people in attendance of her age, and older. All dressed in a mix of homemade costumes or whatever they could find in their local fancy dress shop. The air was saturated with the smell of gingerbread, stewing apples, warm pumpkin pie, and the aroma of many other fairytale-inspired foods, sold on various stalls. The enchanting atmosphere was further heightened by an inspired decorative move from the organisers who had draped the entire hall from ceiling to floor with thousands of fairy lights. They twinkled in such a way that Maddie almost believed there really was magic in the air.

‘Young maiden?’ The elderly woman who had addressed her before tried to re-establish her attention. Her withered hand outstretched in the hope of being crossed with the five pound fee advertised on a placard near the entrance to her wagon. According to the lettering above the fee, her name was Madame Codoni.

Maddie tucked a strand of auburn hair behind her ear and tried to think of a polite way of refusing the offer. ‘I don’t think great things lay in my future, sorry,’ she said, turning away.

‘You’d be wrong.’

Slowly, Maddie turned back to Madame Codoni who now wore a knowing smile. Something about the old woman’s expression made Maddie hesitate. She had planned to join the queue to have her photograph taken with one of the handsome princes and dashing knights the event coordinators had hired but the watery glaze of the old woman’s grey eyes reminded her of her mother.

Maddie shook her head, trying to shake away the thoughts along with them. She didn’t want to think about that today. She had thought of little else since her mother’s first operation. The doctors had done all they could and now there was nothing they could do but wait and see if the tests showed her to be in remission. After the many sacrifices Maddie had made, this was a day just for her…

Still, she couldn’t say no to the fortune-teller when she reminded her so much of the person she loved most in the world.

‘Alright,’ Maddie said, narrowing her eyes in good humour at Madame Codoni before dropping change, to the sum of five pounds, into her still-open hand. ‘But no nonsense about tall, handsome strangers, if you don’t mind.’

‘Had some trouble with men, have we?’ Madame Codoni said, waving Maddie into her wagon, which smelled strongly of jasmine incense.

Maddie shook her head and chuckled. She wasn’t giving the old woman any credit for working that out after her somewhat jaded comment.

When purchasing her convention ticket online, Maddie had clicked the all-access option, which included entrance to a special masquerade ball the organisers were holding that evening once the stall-holders had packed up for the day. Although she hadn’t ruled out seducing a masked stranger that evening just for the thrill of it, she didn’t intend to even exchange names with any man she might take to bed. Given how her last romantic entanglement ended, they seemed far more trouble than they were ever worth. At least for the foreseeable future.

‘You tell me,’ Maddie answered dryly, ‘you’re the all-seeing oracle.’

Madame Codoni smiled what seemed a rather sly smile and indicated Maddie should sit next to a small round table. ‘We shall see, what we can see.’

Without another word, Madame Codoni seated herself opposite Maddie and whipped a length of turquoise silk off a large crystal ball which had been sitting, shrouded, on the table.

Maddie did her best not to roll her eyes as Madame Codoni stared hard into the crystal and waved her hands around it as though pulling aside a veil visible only to herself. This was even more hokey than Maddie had thought it would be.

‘You’ve had a tough time lately,’ Madame Codoni said.

‘Yes,’ Maddie found herself admitting; though the woman’s prediction was hardly specific it felt good to at least acknowledge that fact. Up until now she’d had no choice but to put a brave face on everything. ‘I